Lakers Big Men

Andrew Bynum sat in his chair with a knit cap on his head and a fat lip courtesy of an elbow from Shaquille O'Neal. Pau Gasol dressed in a suit, his eyes darting at the assembled media, his spirits down because he failed to deliver for the Lakers in the clutch. Bynum and Gasol are both 7-footers, and along with Lamar Odom, are supposed to be a dominant front line. But in a 93-87 loss to the Cavaliers on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena, it was Cleveland's big men who were the most physical and the most effective.

SAN ANTONIO - A throw-in from the Dwight Howard trade finally threw his weight around. Earl Clark had his first good game with the Lakers and maybe the only memorable one of his four-year NBA career, setting personal bests with 22 points and 13 rebounds in a 108-105 loss Wednesday to the San Antonio Spurs. He was active and athletic, things the Lakers have missed throughout the season, and scored more points in one game than he had all season (14). It was only the second career double-double for the former Phoenix Suns lottery pick (14th overall, Louisville, 2009)

Reporting from Boston Bad night for the Lakers' post players, one and all. Andrew Bynum was ailing and ineffective, but Pau Gasol one-upped him by being healthy and unproductive. The Lakers were knocked around by the Boston Celtics for most of their 92-86 loss Sunday at TD Garden, much to the delight of Celtics fans who saw Gasol get his shot blocked three times and Bynum fail to score after the first quarter. That Bynum played despite a sore and swollen right knee was a statement in itself, but Gasol was the one who had only 12 points on five-for-12 shooting in Game 5. "We need to be more of a factor defensively and more productive offensively as well," Gasol acknowledged.

Steve Nash finally returned, the man who was supposed to restore order and balance to the Lakers' offense, but Kobe Bryant took 41 shots. What's next in this loopy season for the sub-.500 Lakers? Bryant's 34 points were wildly inefficient Saturday against Golden State. Put it this way: He took only five more shots when he scored 81 against Toronto in that 2006 game. He made only 16 shots against the Warriors (not good accuracy) and took only one free throw (not really his fault)

Kobe Bryant did the heavy lifting for the Lakers on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, and it took a physical toll on him. Bryant is up to the challenge of delivering for his team, of scoring 40 points, playing 43 minutes and defending players as he did against the Denver Nuggets in leading the Lakers to a win in the best-of-seven series that resumes tonight at Staples Center.

Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum stood back to back in front of a purple backdrop Sunday morning, the Lakers' 7-footers clutching basketballs and smiling as cameras clicked during media day. There was someone missing from the picture. Lamar Odom is on his way to Dallas after being traded to the Mavericks the previous day, leaving Gasol and Bynum as the Lakers' big men of the moment. "That definitely affects us negatively, obviously," Bynum said. "We had the best front line, I'd say, between me, [Odom]

Steve Nash finally returned, the man who was supposed to restore order and balance to the Lakers' offense, but Kobe Bryant took 41 shots. What's next in this loopy season for the sub-.500 Lakers? Bryant's 34 points were wildly inefficient Saturday against Golden State. Put it this way: He took only five more shots when he scored 81 against Toronto in that 2006 game. He made only 16 shots against the Warriors (not good accuracy) and took only one free throw (not really his fault)

Wary Christmas. If this didn't throw some caution into the lovely prose cataloging the Lakers' steamroller of a season, would anything? The Lakers were uninspiring and unexciting, in case their angry, booing fans didn't prove the point during a thorough 102-87 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday at Staples Center. The Lakers lost their cool -- Kobe Bryant seemed edgy and off-kilter the entire game, and Lamar Odom was ejected in the fourth quarter -- and their fans followed suit, hurling about 50 promotional foam-finger giveaways on to the court with 4 minutes 4 seconds to play and the Lakers down 18. The game was briefly delayed and, despite pleas from longtime in-house announcer Lawrence Tanter, more foam fingers were tossed from the stands after another foul was called with 3:45 to play.

SAN ANTONIO - A throw-in from the Dwight Howard trade finally threw his weight around. Earl Clark had his first good game with the Lakers and maybe the only memorable one of his four-year NBA career, setting personal bests with 22 points and 13 rebounds in a 108-105 loss Wednesday to the San Antonio Spurs. He was active and athletic, things the Lakers have missed throughout the season, and scored more points in one game than he had all season (14). It was only the second career double-double for the former Phoenix Suns lottery pick (14th overall, Louisville, 2009)

There were no last-second, off-balance 27-foot three-point bank shots Sunday. None were needed. The Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns with ease, 108-88, at Staples Center, showing how large a gap exists between two of the top teams in the Western Conference. Forget gap. It's more like a chasm. The Lakers (16-3) entered Sunday a game in front of the Suns in the standings. They exited two games and a country mile ahead of them. The Suns (15-6) never led on the way to their second one-sided loss to the Lakers in the last four weeks.

  Kobe Bryant had a stomach virus, had trouble keeping anything down all day, and took fluid by intravenous injection before the game. Turns out, it was the rest of the Lakers who played as if they should have been in the infirmary. Bryant was the only Laker to provide any offense in Game 6 of the Lakers' Western Conference first-round playoff series against the Nuggets in Denver on Thursday night. Denver won easily, 113-96, dominating play inside, shooting three-pointers as if they were playing a game of H-O-R-S-E in the driveway and thoroughly dominating every facet of play to force a Game 7 Saturday night at Staples Center.

Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum stood back to back in front of a purple backdrop Sunday morning, the Lakers' 7-footers clutching basketballs and smiling as cameras clicked during media day. There was someone missing from the picture. Lamar Odom is on his way to Dallas after being traded to the Mavericks the previous day, leaving Gasol and Bynum as the Lakers' big men of the moment. "That definitely affects us negatively, obviously," Bynum said. "We had the best front line, I'd say, between me, [Odom]

Reporting from Dallas The tension between Lakers Coach Phil Jackson and center Andrew Bynum and forward Pau Gasol was palpable Friday night in Game 3. It could be seen in how animated Jackson was toward his two big men during so many timeouts. It showed in how many times Jackson got into the face of Bynum and Gasol during timeouts. And it really was on display when Jackson could be seen repeatedly thumping Gasol in the chest with his fist during timeouts. Bynum had another strong game, scoring 21 points on nine-for-16 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Lakers' 98-92 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

Six for eight from the field. Thirteen rebounds. Seven assists. 21 points. Not a bad night's work for Pau Gasol. "I'll take that every game if I could," Gasol said after the Lakers defeated the New Orleans Hornets, 101-97, Friday night at Staples Center. "Twenty-one, 13 and seven, I'll take that any game. I was a little bit upset that I missed those two free throws at the end, but that's about it. " Oh, yes, those two missed free throws in the fourth quarter.

Reporting from Boston Bad night for the Lakers' post players, one and all. Andrew Bynum was ailing and ineffective, but Pau Gasol one-upped him by being healthy and unproductive. The Lakers were knocked around by the Boston Celtics for most of their 92-86 loss Sunday at TD Garden, much to the delight of Celtics fans who saw Gasol get his shot blocked three times and Bynum fail to score after the first quarter. That Bynum played despite a sore and swollen right knee was a statement in itself, but Gasol was the one who had only 12 points on five-for-12 shooting in Game 5. "We need to be more of a factor defensively and more productive offensively as well," Gasol acknowledged.

Kobe Bryant walked off the court quickly and quietly, his head tilted down, an emblem as good as any after the Lakers ended their longest trip of the season with a last-second loss. They faced a variety of conflicts against the Memphis Grizzlies -- Gasol vs. Gasol, Bryant vs. Jerry West, Phil Jackson vs. Pat Riley and themselves vs. the trip that wouldn't end -- but lost them all except Bryant's pursuit of West's franchise scoring record. That Bryant was in a somber mood after getting 44 points and becoming the Lakers' all-time leading scorer set the table for what Jackson would confirm after the team's 95-93 loss to the Grizzles on Monday night at FedExForum: This trip was only "so-so."

Broderick Turner covers the Lakers for The Times. Readers' questions about the Lakers will be answered every week. Question: I think the Lakers are in big trouble. Like other Lakers fans, I was very happy when the Lakers got Ron Artest. I thought about his toughness, being able to play multiple positions, and how his defense was very effective on everybody except Kobe [Bryant]. But I also thought about the bad. Artest is not a great set shooter, he does not take good shots and he is big, but not very quick.

Kobe Bryant walked off the court quickly and quietly, his head tilted down, an emblem as good as any after the Lakers ended their longest trip of the season with a last-second loss. They faced a variety of conflicts against the Memphis Grizzlies -- Gasol vs. Gasol, Bryant vs. Jerry West, Phil Jackson vs. Pat Riley and themselves vs. the trip that wouldn't end -- but lost them all except Bryant's pursuit of West's franchise scoring record. That Bryant was in a somber mood after getting 44 points and becoming the Lakers' all-time leading scorer set the table for what Jackson would confirm after the team's 95-93 loss to the Grizzles on Monday night at FedExForum: This trip was only "so-so."

Broderick Turner covers the Lakers for The Times. Readers' questions about the Lakers will be answered every week. Question: I think the Lakers are in big trouble. Like other Lakers fans, I was very happy when the Lakers got Ron Artest. I thought about his toughness, being able to play multiple positions, and how his defense was very effective on everybody except Kobe [Bryant]. But I also thought about the bad. Artest is not a great set shooter, he does not take good shots and he is big, but not very quick.

Andrew Bynum sat in his chair with a knit cap on his head and a fat lip courtesy of an elbow from Shaquille O'Neal. Pau Gasol dressed in a suit, his eyes darting at the assembled media, his spirits down because he failed to deliver for the Lakers in the clutch. Bynum and Gasol are both 7-footers, and along with Lamar Odom, are supposed to be a dominant front line. But in a 93-87 loss to the Cavaliers on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena, it was Cleveland's big men who were the most physical and the most effective.